Question before first 100 miler

CleeRider

Bit of a survey really:
How much stopping time during the ride would you say is permissible in order to say I've completed my first century?
E.g. 30mins at a cafe at the half way stage?

I realise there are no rules as such but I don't want to feel like I've cheated

drlodge

Whatever you need. I would think most peoples first century might include a substantial stop at the half way mark e.g. for lunch.

neilo23

Do you know if you're a "stopping person"? Personally I never take a break when riding as I find it hard to get started again. My legs never seem to work as well after taking a break.

Schoie81

I did my longest ride to date last week - 64miles, stopped for 30minutes ish for a sandwich but personally I'm happy to consider that it was a 64mile ride and not a 27mile ride, followed by a 37mile ride...

markhewitt1978

As much as you like! Stopping for lunch for an hour would seem entirely reasonable to me, for example.

drlodge

On our recent Club EPIC 165 miler we must have stopped for around 2 hours for lunch...no limits on break as long as the break doesn't include sleep ;-)

rickeverett

My first ever had a stop at 80mile mark for 15-20min. But I now I avoid stopping as I found it seems to hamper things. Perhaps a 2-3min stop for a pee or food.

chrisaonabike

Other than to repair a puncture or other defect, a stop is permitted only if switching the empty bottle in the front cage with the full one in the rear cage cannot be achieved safely on the move. Or to avoid having to jump a red light.

Graham K

Did my 1st proper 100 miler the other week (my previous was a vague guess so could lose 10 mile off it)
I stopped midway for around half an hour, mistake, took me far too long to get into something like a decent rhythm.

Depends on the type of rider you are, I prefer to keep going.

Slo Mo Jones

Stops are only allowed if accompanied by a coffee, cigarette and a sneer.

Monty Dog

If it's warm, then stopping is less of a problem than being cold and wet. You should start drinking and eating within the first hour of your ride rather than waiting for half-way. Our mid-summer epic involves a ride to Portsmouth, a ferry to the Isle of Wight, a lap of the island and a ride home...conveniently the ferry trips involve a half-hour of stuffing your face plus a cafe stop in Freshwater :-) Fish and chips on the ferry back to Ryde do weigh heavily on the climb back up Portsdown Hill.

StillGoing

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

Other than to repair a puncture or other defect, a stop is permitted only if switching the empty bottle in the front cage with the full one in the rear cage cannot be achieved safely on the move. Or to avoid having to jump a red light.

Almost agree with this. Stopping for a puncture or mechanical, toilet stop and the aforementioned red light yes, otherwise no. I'd see a break of 30 mins as two 50 mile rides or whatever the ratio happened to be rather than a full blown century. Equally merit-able, but not a proper century IMO.

marcusjb

Now I wonder if I have ever ridden a proper century?

Little point in going on a bike ride unless a cafe stop, or three is involved.

apreading

drlodge wrote:

no limits on break as long as the break doesn't include sleep ;-)

+1 this ^^^^

Actually, come to think of it, I tend to refer to riding 100 miles in a day, rather than riding 100 miles non stop - I guess the latter would be harder and more of a test but where is the fun, its meant to be fun surely? Cake stop, pint in a beer garden, pub lunch, a nice chillout looking at a beautiful landscape and stopping to enjoy it for a few moments - whatever your fancy, without a break it would just get monotonous...

chrisaonabike

philthy3 wrote:

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

Other than to repair a puncture or other defect, a stop is permitted only if switching the empty bottle in the front cage with the full one in the rear cage cannot be achieved safely on the move. Or to avoid having to jump a red light.

Almost agree with this. Stopping for a puncture or mechanical, toilet stop and the aforementioned red light yes, otherwise no. I'd see a break of 30 mins as two 50 mile rides or whatever the ratio happened to be rather than a full blown century. Equally merit-able, but not a proper century IMO.

Actually, I was just kidding. A half-hour break in a 100 miles is Ok, providing there's no Swedish massage....

That said, I did do 85 miles yesterday, and only stopped to switch my bottles around. So really I'm just trumpet blowing

CiB

I thought we'd agreed a few weeks ago that a century counts as a century as long as a break is just a break (of a reasonable length) and isn't interrupted by doing something else, like painting a garage or doing a day's work. It's up to the individual to define a reasonable length and doing something else, but that's the guidance.

drlodge

marcusjb wrote:

Little point in going on a bike ride unless a cafe stop, or three is involved.

Nail, head, hit.

The whole point of a cycle ride is to eat cake.

opus25

Did my first century earlier and stopped for 10 minutes fixing a puncture 15km from home. Other than that it was at traffic lights getting in and out of the city, taking a leak, or to nip into a shop and get some more water. In total it was around 40 minutes overall (5h 28 moving / 6h 13 all-in).

I personally wouldn't stop for over 30 minutes and that's at a push. I see a century as a challenge that is fun and rewarding by not having mega breaks. As for scenery, well a good route should have all the scenery you need rather than the pub beer garden which will keep you riding

Another thing is I just don't have the time to turn 6 hours into 8 or 9!

Tjgoodhew

On my one and only century i stopped twice.

Once for a quick bite to eat and a leak that was for about 15 mins and the other for 5 mins to call the Mrs and tell her to run the bath as my legs were aching !!!

I am defiantly somebody that prefers to keep going and find it difficult to get into a rhythm after stopping. Anything less than 50 miles i wont stop and anything over I will take a few minutes for some food and/or a water bottle refill

Iv even mastered the bottle switch on the move !!!

DavidJB

marcusjb wrote:

Little point in going on a bike ride unless a cafe stop, or three is involved.

Incorrect. You need to never stop, attack all the strava segments, constantly look at your power meter, piss on the move, try and pass anyone you see on a bike, and shave your legs (while on the move of course)

Miles253

I dont think there is any real politics to it, i like to stop for 10 or 15 mins, purhaps have a coke or a snack. depends how i am feeling however, or if the people i am with want to go on, that can often dictate my rides.

birdie23

Unless I'm out to set a good time for 100 miles, I'll stop once for about 30/40 minutes. Have a sandwich, drink a coke and then finish the ride.

Just do it how you want. I actually find the stop lengthens my moving time as I stiffen up a little for 10 miles or so after setting back off.

dennisn

markhewitt1978 wrote:

As much as you like! Stopping for lunch for an hour would seem entirely reasonable to me, for example.

Way too long in my opinion. First off, you don't HAVE to stop but a 100 miler most likely means you'll need a bit of water somewhere along the line. Grab some food, walk around a bit while you eat, and hit the road again. About mile 80 or so you'll be looking to get this madness over with and stopping for long breaks is not the way to do it. Just drags it out longer.

bflk

Assuming a solo ride, what tips for refilling water bottles and keeping the bike secure - I don't want to carry a lock for 100 miles. I would be too nervous to go into a shop if it was out of sight especially as I'd be in shoes I can't run fast in or at all. Especially if its a garage where a guy in a van could be off with it in the back before I knew it.

drlodge

bflk wrote:

Assuming a solo ride, what tips for refilling water bottles and keeping the bike secure - I don't want to carry a lock for 100 miles. I would be too nervous to go into a shop if it was out of sight especially as I'd be in shoes I can't run fast in or at all. Especially if its a garage where a guy in a van could be off with it in the back before I knew it.

2 x 1 litre bottles should get you most of the way, refill at a mid way coffee stop or local corner store if needed

This bike lock is very portable and light, great to prevent the opportunist theif http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lifeventure-Mini-Cable-Lock-9750/dp/B000R2BPVY

bflk

Thanks, I'll check it out.

dennisn

CleeRider wrote:

I realise there are no rules as such but I don't want to feel like I've cheated

How can you cheat if there are no rules????? :?

Look, If you go out there and sometime between sunup and sundown you pedal a bike 100 miles, isn't that riding a 100 miler? You're way overthinking this.

markhewitt1978

You're allowed to ride in the dark too!

drlodge

Put it this way..you ride and ride and ride, how many miles does your Garmin say? 100? That's a century ride.

deadhead1971

I'd go along with the laid back, relaxed approach and say don't worry about it.
If you need to stop for a bit, to eat some lunch, go for it. Eventually, you'll be experienced enough to know whether it suits you to stop, or to keep going, as some prefer.
I can certainly relate to those who say it's sometimes hard to get going again after a stop.

I recently did my first century in over a year (and yes, we stopped for about 30 mins at a cafe for beans on toast. Yum)

I was nervous that day of being able to get around comfortably, and found myself using every trick I could think of to make sure it went well.

I wrote these tips up as a blog post, which had a great response on my site and on facebook, so I hope it'll be useful to folks here too.

http://www.scarletfire.co.uk/training-f ... tury-ride/

Mikey23

My first and only 100 miler was up the loire valley from nantes to tours... It took me pretty much all day but it still shows 100 miles on strava